


For Want of a Nail

by Jory0994



Series: Of All The Plans of Gods And Men... [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Author Commentary, Blood Magic, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kid Fic, Mind Control, Multi, Oops, So I might have given the astrals ptsd, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-05 15:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16370678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jory0994/pseuds/Jory0994
Summary: “Shivas' Daughter is the Chosen Oracle, did she have two children to have one to keep?”





	1. Confessions

Regis was very worried.

 

He should be happy, his firstborn son was just born. Born with a supernova in the sky at the time of his birth, yes, but healthy. The birthmark like a sword through a sun was strange, but his son was fine.

 

That didn't stop him from worrying about his wife, she had...changed after the birth. Dazed almost, and not quick to answer to her name. Now he finds her weeping quietly while rocking Noctis.

 

She hadn't noticed him come in, which was strange for his wife, with her almost supernatural senses. He walks softly over and kneels beside her, ignoring the twinge from his knee. Holding her hand he gently kissed the palm and closed the fingers over it. She slowly met his eyes, something ominous swimming in the depths of hers.

 

“Will you tell me what is bothering you, my love?”

 

Instead of answering she tugged him up with her and led him to Noctis' bassinet. Tucking him in she turned to Regis and pulled him into a hug. Before he could voice his increasingly panicked thoughts she pulls away to look him in the eyes. Her question did not calm him down.

 

“Did you mean your privet vows when you told me you would always listen to my side of the story before you passed judgment?”

“Of course Aulea, I will always listen to you.”

“I hope you remember that.” she turns to Noctis and waves a hand over him, presentation style, continuing.

“King Regis Lucis Caelum, called The Father, I present to you your Son and Heir, Crown Prince Noctis Lucius Caleum, Son of Bahamut, King of Light, Chosen One, Dawn-Sword, The Dragon, Astral-born.”

 

Regis, having followed her hand, turned to her in shock as she spoke. She had changed, scales edged her face and her eyes were as blue as the Crystal. Her clothes had shifted to a gilded set of blue plate mail armor, and most striking of all, great sword-sharp wings arched behind her seemingly made of solid light.

 

In that moment she seemed more like a Queen than ever before, he easily believed he was standing in the presence of the King of the Gods. But he knew Aulea, no matter how haughty her head tilt, he could see she was terrified of his reaction. It was an easy thing to accept. He kneeled and took her hands in his.

 

“I love you, dearheart, and I always will. I don't see why this would change anything.”

“Even if I might have doomed our son?” Regis hesitated.

“Is it fixable?”

“I don't know. It depends on whether the others will help.” She admitted quietly, armor shattering into fading crystal and returning to normal.

“Will you try?”

“Yes.”

“Then everything else is details.”

 

Aulea burst into tears. Regis pulled her into a hug and led her across the room so they wouldn't wake Noctis. Siting in an armchair he pulled his wife into his lap, letting her curl up to him as she cried. Eventually she ran out of tears. Offering her a glass of water from the side table, she took a sip and started explaining in a low voice.

 

“I am Bahamut, King of Gods, Sword of The Astrals, Unbending as Iron. I am also Aulea Lucis Caelum nee' Leonis. And I'm an idiot. I didn't remember being Bahamut until Noctis was born. It's so strange being mortal. And confusing.”

“What's confusing you, Love? Can I help?”

 

She turned to be able to face him. It was very difficult to see her as The Draconian when she looked like that time when she knocked half the shelves in the library over.

 

“Astrals incarnate to be able to understand humans. We are not human Regis, we never were. Ifirit comes closest I think, given his nature. The most confusing part is morals.

Regis, how do you apologize to someone you cursed into two thousand years of torture?”

“What?!”

 

Regis looked at Aulea trying to remember if he had ever heard of The Draconian cursing any one. He could only remember one instance, and slowly spoke.

 

“Do you mean the Accursed?”

“Ardyn Lucis Caelum was the Founder King. The son of a Priestess of Bahamut and Priest of Shiva. We altered his natural magic to be able to absorb the Starscourge. When he was done and the Scourge was entirely inside him he tried to enter the Crystal and purge the Star. It rejected him.”

“Why did it reject him?”

 

Aulea shifted and looked even more guilty. Regis took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

 

“The Crystal is the Heart of Eos, formed when Eos had to leave this plain of existence with Etro to end the War of Gods. It acts as a gateway to the Ether, where all plains exist simultaneously.”

“Why would that make it reject him?”

“Why can't you put too much weight on a bridge?”

“Ah.”

 

They fell silent for a while, cuddling. After a period of time Aulea picked up her tale.

 

“Astrals don't have morals the way humans do. We have rules that are as instinctive as breathing and preferences, but I think the closest thing to ethics is the commands we received from Etro.”

 

Aulea braced herself.

 

“Somnus Lucis Caelum, called the Mystic, imprisoned and crucified his brother, on my orders. He turned the citizens on him and even his Shield betrayed him. All on my orders. Then he erased his brothers existence so he would never find peace in the afterlife. Which was a dick move, but not on my orders.”

“Why have him crucified?”

“I didn't specify how to kill him, and having never been human, I didn't know just how eager a person who had been overshadowed all their life could be.”

“But his brother?”

“I don't know either, I can't imagine doing that to Cor.”

 

He hugged her again when he felt her breath speeding up, it was understandable given just how close the siblings were. He couldn't imagine doing that to Clarus either.

 

“Even his Shield, Love?”

“I don't understand that either, he refused three times, until he sudden....it wasn't him, was it?”

“Aulea?”

“Gilgamesh Amiticia refused the King of the Gods three times and then suddenly breaks his oath for an usurper? Even then I knew it would damn him to his Kings' fate if he didn't request Titans' Grace to be released. I could have interceded with Titan, but I was not Invoked. Shields live as long as their kings, Regis. He's still out there, which means I damned two innocent men.”

 

Regis looked at his wife, who was fighting more tears, and had a sudden thought.

 

“Gilgamesh? As in the Blademaster Cor fought?”

“Yes. Which means I owe him again for not killing my idiot brother.”

“You think he was controlled then?”

 

Aulea let out a bitter laugh that sounded like it scraped her throat raw. Regis gave her the glass of water and let her drink it before she explained.

 

“I know exactly why Somnus was called the Mystic, and how he got an entire country to turn on a Beloved Healer. Can you think of anyone turning on the Oracle? He was Beloved by his people, Regis. He Healed them of the Starscourge, drove back the daemons and made the night safe again. And they all turned on him.”

 

“How did he do it?” Regis asked hesitantly.

“None of his government asked me to intercede with Titan. It took five years for the last oath-breaker to die. At the time I did not care, but given the contents of the cosmology? They thought I commanded them to do so. Somnus was very good at mind magic.”

“I'm sorry for my ancestors actions.”

“Don't, I probably wouldn't have cared if I hadn't incarnated.”

 

They fell silent again. Regis was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his most revered ancestor as an usurper and that there were two actual immortals running around. He finally brought him self to ask,

 

“Two thousand years of torture?” He felt a deep sigh.

“I thought I could fix my fuck up in the between, before he entered Etros' Garden, but the Scourge was too entwined with his soul. I can't destroy souls, so I made the Prophecy, and cursed him to never die. I couldn't let him contaminate the Garden.”

“Why have his brother kill him? That part I don't understand.”

“It was his Duty. Back then if a family member was irreversibly ill with the scourge it was the family's job to not let them be a danger to the community. Galahd is the only place that it's still practiced.”

“That's been outlawed for centuries.”

“Galahd is the Gate, Regis. It belongs to Ramuh, it is His Judgment that allows passage. Do not interfere with it, please.”

 

Regis looked at his wife and slowly nodded. He knew she would not ask if it wasn't important.

 

“You don't mean Etros' Gate?”

“There are Three Gates. Etros' is only accessible to the dead. Lucis guards Eos' unknowingly.

Galahd is the Gate formed on the death of Cosmos, who birthed the Two.”

“I've never heard of them, or of Cosmos.”

“She died in the Birthing. I don't know much about her.”

“Where does Her Gate lead then, if not to the Garden or the Ether?”

“Don't ask me that Regis, delving too deep in those secrets drives even Gods mad.”

 

She was as grave as he had ever seen her. He agreed easily, it's not like he had time to be scholarly anyway.

 

“Noctis is the Chosen King then?” Regis asked mostly calm.

“Yes. But I'm going to fix the Prophecy, I....knew it was cruel, but I didn't care.”

“But now you do?”

“Yes. Noctis is my baby, I don't want him to die, especially not for something I did. I have to help The First King, too. I didn't even tell Ardyn why the Crystal rejected him Regis! What kind of person am I?”

 

Aulea started crying again, and all Regis could do was hold her. He reassured her over and over that they would fix it. They had to. They heard soft complaints from the bassinet.

 

“Let me get him, Love.”

 

Regis set Aulea in the chair as he got up and swiftly, but quietly, walked to the bassinet. Smiling down at the cranky infant, Regis gently scooped him up. He then almost had a heart attack when Noctis rippled with light. Suddenly he was not holding a human newborn but a lizard the size of a newborn. He jerked back and landed on his ass, holding his lizard-son carefully.

 

“Aulea!” he panicked.

“Calm down, honey. This is why I insisted on no servants at night.”

“Ah. Is this normal then?”

“I think so, but of the survivors awake, only Ramuh has had children before.” Aulea coxed Noctis back into human form and started feeding him, sitting on the floor beside him.

 

“Survivors?”

“From the War of Gods. There are lesser Astrals sleeping, waiting, but of the Greater Astrals, only the Six are left. And Carbuncle.”

“What's Carbuncle then?”

“Who the fuck knows. One thing humanity has taught me is that I'm not omniscient. I was never meant to be King of the Gods. I was just the last one left.”

“I'm sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.”

 

After a few minuets he asked.

  
“Does your brother know about this?”

“No. I wanted to tell you first.”

“I'm going to get a camera ready for when you do tell them.”

 

Aulea burst into giggles. When they eventually went to bed she tucked in along side him and pulled the Ring of the Lucii off his finger. She held it up to her lips and blew, sending ripples of blue across it. If he had to guess there were one hundred twelve of them, one for each king before him. When he slid it back on he felt an immediate difference. The Lucii were gone.

 

“It does not drain you now. It won't be necessary anymore, and the wall will draw directly from the Crystal.”

“What if we fail? Noctis will need the Lucii.”

“No, he won't. If we fail and he must fight the Scourge then he will do so wearing the Mantel of The Draconian.”

“'Lea.” He said, sadly.

“He's my baby, he will live a long and happy life.”

“I agree, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 


	2. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *google tells me Parrain is Cajun for godparent

Shiva was mortal once again. She did so regularly, to make sure she remembered the lesson she learned the first time. She didn't want to go back to being the Killing Frost, being the Gentle was much better for her piece of mind. A child was a new lesson though.

 

Watching her newborn son sleep peacefully she smiled softly when a small puppy, barely of age to leave it's mother, wiggled it's way out of the Astral plain. Umbra and Pryna were the only Lesser Astrals awake, and she was always glad to see some of the friends she had made that terrible blood-soaked night at Pitoss.

 

“Hello Umbra, are you going to be his Parrain* then, my friend?”

 

Tilting her head to the side she listened to something only she can hear.

 

'Of course I am, Mistress, I beat Pryna in the race to decide which of us gets to.'

“Silly, you are both welcome by my side, always. But I guess Pryna will have to get the next one.”

'Next one? Already planing it then?'

“I am the Oracle this time around, dear one, I _must_ have a daughter to pass it on.”

 

The puppy gave a hilarious look that was probably meant to be suspicious, but only managed to look adorable. She couldn't resist giving him a cuddle. He wiggled in glee, current form being what it was. Eventually settling down in a rocking chair he continued.

 

'You're still mad about Bahamuts' Prophecy, aren't you?'

“Yes. And at myself, That was as close as I'd ever come to being the Killing Frost again, I can't do it, I can't be HER again.”

'Mistress......'

“I don't want to talk about it, please.”

 

The puppy wriggled around and licked the tears away, making her smile wetly. She scratched him behind the ears, basking in the silence until Ravus started fussing. Sitting Umbra on the floor she picked him up gently and settled back in the rocking chair to feed him. Umbra hooped on her lap. Speaking so no human could hear, she started murmuring,

 

'Umbra, Shadow of Time, He Who Walks The Darkened Paths Unafraid, Sheppard of Hope, do you hereby swear to Guard Ravus Nox Flurent as if he were your own?

'I So Swear.'

'To Guide him in his, life unfettered by destiny?'

'I So Swear.'

'To Teach him what he needs to be happy, loved, and safe?'

'I So Swear.'

'Then by the Star We Guard and the Two who made us I name you Parrain to my First Born Son Crown Prince Ravus Nox Flurent of Tenebrae, Son of Shiva, First Frost, Winter Knight, Duke of the Eternal Ice. So Mote It Be'

“So Mote It Be.'

 

There was a soft, aching silence where there should be a chorus of howls, but the oath took with a click. About to thank Umbra again, they both paused as a lone, distant howl rang just at the edge of their senses. Shocked they stared at each other unsure if they believed what they heard.

 

'Was that Fenrir?' Umbra said in wonder.

 

Shiva could only shrug.

 

The next day Queen Sylva Via Flurent had a great time confusing all and sundry when questioned about the sudden puppy. You would think that her people would be used to getting no answers.

 

Tenebrae celebrated the birth of their Oracles first child, even if they found it slightly scandalous that there as no father named. To the disappointment of the Gossip Network, that stretched from Tenebrae to Galahd, the oddest thing about Prince Ravus was the heterochromia that popped up in the Oracles' Line occasionally. They had no way of pinpointing the father through physical traits.

 

Unfortunately for the Gossips, Umbra was very good at hiding magical oddness in the general chaos of a child and puppy. Of course the Prince didn't always wear a coat, he often had a furry dog the same size as him sprawled across him. There's snow all over the hall, well dogs are like that sometimes. The Prince threw a kidnapper out the window at age four, well he is the Blood of the Oracle.

 

Shiva had wrangled a withdraw of one hundred miles in circumference out of Niflheim for that one. She had no idea how the majority of their forces got severe frost bite, really. If they weren't careful she would have to do something about them. As it was now they were treating her people well and no one was objecting, so she would maintain the status quo for as long as she could.

 

She was enjoying motherhood, her Snowdrift was a delight. She should probably tell her servants something soon though, they were looking kind of frazzled about the heating never working.

 

The Oracles' staff was used to finding the Oracle dancing around to music with the Prince, or laying on the floor of her office helping him color. They were even used to her claiming a small part of the kitchen to make cookies with him. They all agreed she was a good mother, and envied her ability to get by on so little sleep, what with all her other duties as Queen and Oracle.

 

The Oracles staff were NOT used to finding Shiva teaching the Prince to craft animals out of ice.

 

“Maybe you should start with something simpler, Snowdrift.”

“No, I'm makin' Umbra for Mama.”

“Okay, sweetie, but if you start to feel tired tell me.”

“K.”

 

Shiva turned to them and proceeded to turn their world upside down by turning into Queen Sylva. With a soft, gentle smile she asked them to keep her secret, and not a one thought of betraying her. Their Queen was a literal Goddess.

Telling her most trusted staff came none to soon, as Umbra had taught Ravus to shapeshift, the brat. Ravus was a gangly wolf puppy who was discovering the main pitfall of shapeshifting, moving in your new body. White as snow,and shaggy, Ravus was as a adorable as could be.

 

With a wink at her secretary, she shifted into a full grown dire wolf and nudged Ravus into standing. It took a bit for him to catch his balance but in the end they managed a short run around the yard. Ravus was asleep in her arms when she wandered back into the Manor. Valese Del March, her secretary, was waiting while flipping through a camera.

 

“Any good ones, Valese?”

“Several, milady. Will His Highness get as big as you?”

“Oh, he will probably out grow me.”

“Really? He will be a very big wolf then.”

“Have you ever heard of Fenrir, Valese?” she asked with a smirk.

“No, milady.”

“He's one of the sleeping Lesser Astrals, The Lord of the Wild Hunt is a wolf the size of a mountain.”

“Prince Ravus won't get that big will he?” she asked in a worried tone.

“Heh, no, Fenrir is older than Eos, Val. It would take a long, long time for Ravus to get that big. What needs my attention?”

 

Shuffling her papers Valese started her update. She was only paying half attention, more concerned with what she had to do tonight. It was never fun to confront your own hubris. She would also have to expend a lot of power to sneak under the radar she needed too.

 

She spent that day in a soft daze, getting her work done absently. She seemed to snap back into sharp clarity when the sun fell. After putting Ravus to bed, she turned to Umbra and slowly transferred power to him. She stopped when he shuddered, and helped the now human Umbra off the floor. Looking into an identical, but grumpier face she said,

 

“Thank you, my friend. I have already told the staff not to bother me tonight so you should be fine.”

 

Umbra just gave her a grouchy glare and stumbled to the window seat, flapping a hand. Smiling at her friends grumbling she shifted into the edges of the astral realm. She took her time to seep more of her power into the land of Tenebrae as she made the trek to Taelpar Crag.

 

By the time she arrived at the Tempering Grounds, it was almost midnight and she was as close to mortal as she could manage. By morning her power would return and she risked alerting Bahamut of her interference. Perhaps it was because they had never incarnated but Bahamut didn't understand that a human, even one as changed as Gilgamesh was, could not be alone for too long without going mad.

 

At the stroke of midnight she stepped into the cave and walked fearlessly, the dead trapped here knew who she was and would not interfere. She wished Ifrit would waken, there were too many restless spirits around these days.

 

Finding him in his usual place she smiled sadly, wondering if he would be up to talking this time. Reaching out to touch his arm she used the last of her power to pull him closer to this realm. He shrank down to a more human size and his armor vanished into the Armiger,leaving him in the bed clothes he had died in. With that she was mortal and he lived, until dawn.

 

“Hello Gil.” she whispered softly.

“Lady Shiva, it is good to see you again.” His voice was raspy from disuse.

 

She offered him a water bottle as they sat in a side alcove that had once been for watching the competitors. He drank the water like it was ambrosia, although considering he had no sense of taste normally, perhaps it wasn't so surprising. After drinking his fill, he finally turned to her.

 

“Thank you, my Lady”

“You do not have to thank me for basic human decency Gilgamesh. It is partially my fault you are stuck like this.” He sighed and gave up on propriety.

“It's called manners Shiva. I know you have heard of them.”

“Thank me for something else then, please.”

 

He glanced at her to judge her mood and pulled her into a hug instead. She sighed and hugged him back, once every new moon for two thousand years lets you get to know a person. You either became friends or enemies and Shiva had no living enemies. Eventually stirring Shiva sat up.

 

“Do you want to know what's been happening in the outside world?” Some times he does, some times he didn't. But he always asked about Ardyn first.

“Tell me of my King, Please.” A pained request was her answer.

“Ardyn Izunia is still Chancellor of Niflheim. He runs rings around the Emperors' court, and they haven't noticed his sabotage of the military yet. He is the only one who seems to care about the people there as well. He seems..stable.”

 

It was all she could offer him, by Bahamuts' decree the gods could not appear before Ardyn until the time of the Prophecy. It made her worry, Ardyn had been her friend once, when she was still Gentinia. She hadn't known who she was until she died defending him from Somnus, and when she had woken again as Shiva she had fallen under Bahamuts' orders. Unable to help Ardyn she could only watch as he was betrayed by everyone.

 

It was how she had found out that Gil was being controlled. She had sought him out as Gentinia, who he had  _ seen _ fall, and demanded answers. When he had none and hadn't seemed to think he had done anything wrong, she had ripped into his mind and been immediately horrified. There was very little that hadn't been twisted, and no trace of who had done it. 

 

In the end it had taken her several centuries to pull out the chains on his mind. Learning he was damned to a half life and bound to the Tempering Grounds hadn't help his state of mind. He was mostly stable for the moment, but she had never missed a new moon.

 

Trying to shake his grief, as dwelling would not help, he changed the subject.

 

“How is our son? Has he flooded another bathroom?” Shiva smiled and started telling him about Ravus. She wished she could introduce them, but she couldn't keep the restless dead from him and stay beneath Bahamuts notice at the same time. Maybe some day. 

 

Their night together ended as it usually did these days, with both of them hungry for human connection. This time it had happy consequences though as she was pregnant again. She couldn't go to Gil after a certain point but this time at least she could send Umbra to keep him company.

 

Ravus and Umbra were with her when Pryna made her appearance in Lunafreyas' crib. Wiping away her frown before Ravus could see it, she scooped up Pryna to hug.

 

'Mistress!'

“Hello to you too Pryna, my dear friend”

 

Ravus was excited by the new puppy and it was an eventful hour to get him to sleep, after letting him help with Prynas' Parrain oath. Umbra and Pryna followed her to stand beside Lunafreyas' crib, bickering like always.

 

'why is Mistress upset, Umbra?'

'Lunafreya is the Prophesied Oracle, Pryna. You know what happens.'

'Bahamut wants to kill my nibling?'

“Bahamut wants the Prophecy to happen, which is the same thing.”

'He can't do that! I'll fight him!'

“You can't fight the King of The Gods, Pryna. Being 'She Who Brings Light To Dark Places' isn't going to let you--'

 

Their bickering stopped as they noticed the temperature had dropped a lot and their breath was coming out in puffs of steam. Turning to Shiva, who was holding Lunafreya, they noticed that she had gone eerily still and her smile was as sharp as ice. They hadn't seen that look on her face since Ifrit fell.

 

Watching as she laid the baby back down in the cradle they felt their hearts drop when they heard her whispered vow.

 

“I am Shiva, Battle-Won Sovereign of of the Eternal Ice, War-Queen of the Frozen Blood, Conqueror Of Pitoss, Butcher of the Bleeding Blizzard, The Killing Frost, The Gentle. I Swear to you Lunafreya Nox Flurent that I will do everything in my power to see you live a happy and fulfilling life. By Eos and By Etro, I swear, Our Star desert me if I fail.

 


	3. Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leviathan, Undisputed Monarch of the Timeless Abyss, Sea Of Blood and Tears, Doom Of The Deep, Rage Unrelenting, Tidemother said,
> 
> “Swords Rust.”

Galahd is a land of gleeful contradictions. A strange juxtaposition of normal and bizarre that the mainland has as a whole has purposely forgotten. In a world like Eos, where sleeping gods are revered, Ramuh lives beside his people. He walks among them and they know it. Unlike how the mainland would throw parades and festivals, Galahd treats him as one of them. They'll chat with him in the street, haggle with him in the market, and fight beside him when he must hold the Gate closed.

 

It may seem strange to mainlanders, but Ramuh loves his people. He wanders the islands helping and mediating, and in turn they accept him as he is. They invite him on Hunts and to the parties afterwards like a fellow human. Some of them even flirt.

 

Feeling Carbuncle arrive beside him he turned to see which form his Uncle was wearing. He was mildly surprised that it was human.

 

“Is a Child in danger, Carbuncle? Or are you just party crashing?” A mischievous fanged grin was his answer.

“I brought Mojitos? Come on Sparky, I need adult conversation.” Carbuncle offered him a glass. Ramuh took it with amusement and sipped.

“I didn't say you had to leave. This is good, since when do you make cocktails?”

“I don't, Mojito Falls is in the Dreamtime. On second thought, I'm not sure humans can drink this.” Carbuncle frowned at the pitcher.

“Leave it, I'll drink it. Thella brought sushi.” He had barely finished speaking when Carbuncle vanished.

 

When He woke up the next morning it was a surprise, as he hadn't been planing to sleep. He also had not been planing on sleeping _with_ one of his Strikes. Fighting off a hangover that was proving resistant to godly healing was just the cherry on top.

 

Getting that sorted out took some doing, but thankfully Ishtar didn't want a relationship, that would have been awkward. He continued his eternal watch, knowing something in the weave of the world had changed in the last few decades, but unable to tell what. His lone wandering abruptly ended four months later when one of his Strikes called him in the Traditional Manner.

 

"GET DOWN HEAR YOU DRUNKEN TWISTER!!"

 

A Priest or Priestess of Ramuh, most popularly called Strikes, could yell at the sky during a storm to Call him. It was not often used considering how fiercely independent the islanders are. Worrying that one of them had noticed a breach in the Gate he appeared in a flash of purple lightning, in front of a mildly sick looking Ishtar Ulric. As the lightning cleared she bent over vomiting. Hurriedly offering her his canteen he led her to a chair.

 

“What is the problem, my Strike? This doesn't seem to be poison.” Turning a truly magnificent glare at him, her blue eyes flashed as she snarled.

 

"YOU GOT ME PREGNANT YOU BOOZE ADDLED FOG!"

“Oh Shit.”

 

Seeing a god pale and almost fall down is alarming enough when you aren't four months pregnant. It took awhile to sort out, mainly how to hide the children from the other Astrals,but being in Galahd would help with that.

 

“Why are you saying them? Can you tell there's more than one?” Ishtar asked grumpily. She wasn't dealing with the morning sickness very well.

 

“All my children come in Pairs. It's part of my nature. Lightning and thunder, wind and rain.”

His voice was wry, and there was an old, worn sadness in his eyes.

 

Ishtar frowned in thought, absently finishing the dishes, before settling at the table.

 

“I've never heard of any of the gods having children, is that why we have to hide them?”

“Mostly just from Bahamut and Shiva, the others won't care. Of the lesser Astrals that lie sleeping, only Bismark has had children, and none of them came through the Gate with him when he sought asylum.”

“And the Six?”

“Are all that's left of the Greater Astrals. Of us only I have had children before. I had six children, none of them survived the War. You know the stories of how Phobos and Deimos fell.

“In the final battle of the War of the Gods, Fear and Dread closed shut the Outer Gate, after Hades cast it open in a bid to overthrow the Two.”

“Yes. It is one of the reasons I Claimed these Islands. I will not let their sacrifice be in vain.”

“You can tell mine about their siblings when you visit.” Ishtar said decisively, then said.

“Now, why are we hiding them?”

 

Ramuh hesitated and decided to give few details, it wasn't his story.

 

“Gods incarnate to understand humans, some of use take to it more than others, but we get the gist. With out incarnating we don't know things like empathy or morality, it's not some thing we can learn in our natural forms. This is what I looked like the last time I was born to mortal parents.”

 

He paused thinking back wistfully. That brief lifetime had been in the most peaceful period of Eos' history, he missed it occasionally.

 

“Ifrit knew you best, but of all of us Bahamut is the most revered, and the only one who has never incarnated.”

“So what are you saying, that Bahamut is evil?” She looked worried.

“No. No. Just...amoral? We don't have the concept of emotions before we incarnate.”

“You think He would hurt them?

“I think Astral-born are too powerful for him to be comfortable with this close to the Prophecy.”

“The main-lander cosmology thing?”

“Yes, but I'm going to have to do something about it, if it's as close as I think. I don't want to lose my children to war again.”

 

Time passed and the twins were born. Nyx and Selena Ulric captured there fathers heart the first time he held them, with their exhausted mother laughing at him. Two super powered children was a lot to deal with, but with Galahds' communal focus they were happy and safe.

 

The other kids in the village never saw any thing wrong with the twins occasional magic disaster, but then other kids made messes too. So when Nyx teleports through a lightning bolt the first time and hits a wall, he gets teased, but they also tease Libertus for getting stuck in a tree. When Selena makes a miniature storm cloud follow her around, raining on her head, she gets teased, but only as much as Kory for falling in her mothers' red dye vat.

 

Ramuh made sure to drop in every couple of weeks when he could, between his duties and his increasing confusion about where on Eos Bahamut had got to. He would have thought that with the Prophecy starting soon, that Bahamut would be more diligent in his Scrying.

 

One one of his visits he was trying ,and failing, to fix the tree house the locals had built sometime in the last century, while telling the twins(and assorted friends) about their siblings. It was harder than he thought it would be to keep them child appropriate enough that Ishtar wouldn't throw something at his head. He was getting better at it. Slowly.

 

“...Then after Castor crashed trough the roof, Pollux charged his chocobo trough the stained glass-”

“That's not how you use a hammer, Dad.”

“Ah, that makes more sense, thank you. Where was I-”

“Can I have a chocobo?”

“Ask your mother, but probably not until your old enough to care for it yourself. Now--”

 

This time when he trialed off he looked into the distance, strait at a wall.. Nyx and Selena had turned at the same time, crowding close to Ramuh uneasily. Libertus and the other kids looked at each other in confusion, then at the wall to try to see what's so interesting about it. Nyx spoke first.

 

“What was that?”

“It felt kind of all echoy, like that cave we aren't supposed to play in.” Selena followed.

“Please don't play in Tiamats' Hollow, she hates being woken.” Ramuh said blankly, before shaking himself and turning to the group of kids. After a moment of thought he couldn't find a reason to keep it a secret.

 

“I am mostly sure that was Shiva giving birth. So you have a cousin.”

“Cool! Do we get to meet them?” Nyx said excitedly.

“We should get them a present!” Selena chimed.

“Calm down you two. I don't know if its safe to meet them, Shiva was in favor of the Prophecy last I knew.”

 

The twins looked at each other with a frown, eight years old isn't the best age to work out the motivations of gods. With a confused huff Selena asked,

 

“Why does it feel familiar?”

“You were four the last time it happened. You did not understand what the wind was telling you, but you still heard it.”

“She's got two kids but might let the world end anyway? Rude.”

“Well the new baby is also the prophesied Oracle, so we will see how that plays out. No one actually understands Shivas' motivations. We will--”

 

They all three turned their heads to a completely different direction. Most of the kids had wandered off, not interested in family spats, divine or otherwise. Libertus was listening because even at eight he knew he would be following his friends anywhere. After a moment Nyx spoke up, disturbed.

 

“How did that echo taste like cotton candy?”

“Carbuncle is just like that, son. None of us are sure what he actually is, Eos just showed up one day, handed him to Titan and told us he was the new Guardian of Children. He added Guardian of the Lost after the end of Solheim.”

“Why not ask?” Lib piped up.

“I did ask once. He just patted me obnoxiously on the head and told me he was my Uncle. Then....Huh, so that's how it happened. That was another cousin, next time I see Carbuncle I'll ask if you can meet them.”

 

The kids looked like they were going to ask more questions, but then their mother was calling them in for dinner. Ramuh didn't stay, not really prepared to drag up that much history, instead returning to his wandering.

 

Four more years passed and again while he was visiting they felt an echo. This time it was powerful enough to knock the twins over and Ramuh jerked back and fell into the tide pool they were fishing clams out of.

 

“My teeth ache.” Selena complained. Nyx had nose bleed. Ramuh was too busy staring incredulously at the direction it came from. Shaking himself he checked on the kids and then sat beside them on a boulder.

 

“Well...” He trailed off speechless. Had Bahamut actually incarnated?

“What was that, Dad? It didn't feel like an echo.”

“That was Bahamut regaining their memories and having a child born at the same time. I wonder what this means for the Prophecy? If I'm not mistaken the Chosen King was just born.”

 

Nyx and Selena stared at each other in consternation, old enough now to know why their father was worried. Selena spoke up,

 

“Do you really think that they would have a child for it to die on purpose?”

“They can't do that!”

“I'm not sure. I want to say no, but I have no idea how they are handling mortality, much less parenthood. Bahamut was the last of us to ever incarnate. It's actually how they got the Mantel of The Draconian, the rest of us capable of it were incarnated at the end of the War. The first time we do it, we lose all our memories until a specified time, so we have time to learn without bias. The times after that our memories are there but muted, and we can't accept more power at all.”

 

Again the Twins were disturbed, getting their Dad to talk about the war was usually like pulling teeth. Ramuh stepped up his attempts to find one of the others, and was starting to wonder if he would have to go confront Bahamut himself, when he felt yet another echo.

 

Pausing from where he was helping with the dishes he wondered if they were timing it to his family visits. Why, for the love of mangoes, was Leviathan procreating? He turned to the twins, who had stopped doing their homework, and said.

 

“Your Aunt Leviathan is coming by, you get to finally meet a cousin.”

“Really?!” they said simultaneously.

“Yes wait here, I'll go get her.” He started to teleport away.

“Not in the house!” from the living room.

 

He sheepishly left the house and teleported to the very edge of his Claim, where Leviathan was waiting in her favorite human form. Walking closer he noticed she had a baby in a sling woven out of fishnet. The baby was small and the faint wisps of hair were blond. Stopping before her on the shore, he invited her in.

 

“Be Welcome in my Claim, Sister That Is The Sea, if you come bearing no woe.”

“I Herald no Ill, Brother That Is The Storm, only news.

“Then enter and be at home.”

 

Dark lips over salt pale teeth flashed a grin and she finally stepped across the tide line. He offered his arm, and when she took it he transported them back to his children's home, remembering at the last minuet to appear outside the house. The kids completely abandoned their home work as he walked in.

 

“Leviathan meet my children Nyx and Selena, Kids meet your aunt Levi.”

 

Not having an ounce of shyness between them they greeted each other happily. His Sea-Sister settled in the living room and pulled they fussing baby from the sling. The twins ended up on either side of her peering at the baby. They both made faces when she pulled a live fish from somewhere and fed it to the baby.

 

“Why does it already have teeth? And why are they so sharp?” Nyx said, disturbed.

“It happens.” Leviathan said, with a careless shrug.

“I thought babies drank milk?” asked Selena.

“That's a mammal thing, not many of them in the sea.”

 

“Have you named him yet, Sister?”

“Yes, this is Prompto. Do you want to hold him?” she said to the twins, who nodded eagerly.

 

Watching his children play with their new cousin he asked in a low voice,

 

“What will you do when it comes time for Bahamuts' Prophecy, Sister? If I'm not mistaken that is one of the sworn brothers.”

 

Turning to look her in the eyes, he was abruptly reminded that Leviathan was the only Greater Astral that was not bound by the Swords commands. A deep, seething anger swam in the depths of her Power, deep enough that the children wouldn't notice.

With a grin that would not be out of place on a shark, Leviathan, Undisputed Monarch of the Timeless Abyss, Sea Of Blood and Tears, Doom Of The Deep, Rage Unrelenting, Tidemother said,

 

“Swords Rust.”

 


	4. Movement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Shivas' Daughter is the Chosen Oracle, did she have two children to have one to keep?”

The first ripple did not disturb her sleep, nor the second, third, or fourth, but the fifth? The fifth was no ripple, but a surge, harsh enough to startle her awake. The cliff she was sleeping on crumbled as she woke, sliding into the depths and causing the Tidespawn around her to scatter.

 

The Leviathan spun in a corkscrew to shake her shock and absently waved off the startled questions. She shifted rapidly to the Timeless Abyss to make sure whatever woke her was not affecting the Lifestream. No it was safe, humans hadn't discovered it and the Starscourge still knew to stay out of the water.

 

Shifting through her domains, she could find nothing that would have woken her, which left the other Astrals as the cause. Was Ifrit finally awake? No. Titan decided to end humanity? No. Ramuh—has kids again, oh Stars, but still not what woke me. Shiva—also has kids, the fuck? Not what woke me. Bahamut---did you really have a kid, just to _martyr_ it?

 

She new that Bahamut didn't have much in the way of compassion, but Stars Above. This could not stand. That is a baby, Bahamuts' baby, and they were going to raise it and let it march to it's death to solve a problem _of their own making_. Shifting her senses back to Shiva, she had to wonder, did she have two, so she would have one to keep? She had thought the Butcher gone for good.

 

Deciding to think on land, as this demanded comfort food, she startled a fisherman as she walked out of the sea. Drying her self took but a thought, and with a wink she sauntered into the Maagho, her Tidespawn had recommended it.

 

Settling at a table she thanked the waiter for the menu. She made her order absently, mind still focused on the Problem of Bahamut. If they were willing to do something like sacrifice their own child, then she would do her Two given Duty and end them.

 

Thinking on everything she knew of the prophecy, Leviathan decided she would have to see what she could do about the sworn brothers. With the Oracle in Shivas' clutches and the Chosen King and the Father with Bahamut, those were the only ones she could affect. Searching she scowled when she found one, The Shield, was also in Bahamuts' presence.

 

“Is something wrong with your meal Miss...” A voice pulled her from her thought and she turned to see the proprietor, _Weskham_ Armaugh.

“Levi Saltsinger. No. The food is delicious, my friend. I had my mind on family troubles.”

“Nothing to bad I hope?”

“No, no, I will need to smack my brother before he does something stupid, but I'm sure it will be fine. Thank you for asking.” He nodded and made to leave.

“Good luck, Miss Saltsinger.

 

Leaving a pile of natural pearls,worth way more than the meal, she startled the fisherman again when she walked back into the sea. Arriving by the Hand, invisible, she crouched to look at the toddler.

 

He was a cute little thing, with glasses and a stern frown, as he puzzled out a book she was mostly sure was above toddler reading levels. There was nothing for her to do here, no way his current life intersected with her domains. She could do nothing for him. With a sad frown she sought out the Heart.

 

It was a bit harder, as he wasn't born yet, but she did eventually find him. Why was he here? Wasn't the Chosen King's kingdom at war with this one? Still invisible, she wanders the cold, sterile halls searching for the soul-song of the Heart. Coming to a door, sealed by one of the mortals computers, she side stepped physical reality to enter the room.

 

Stopping in shock at the rows upon rows of children in tanks, Leviathans face settled in ominous sort of stillness. There was only one child soul in this room, one out of hundreds, that had the ability to become a person. Even if you took one of the not-children and tended all its needs, it would never think or speak.

 

Stopping behind a graying blond man she listened to him speak to himself. He spoke of Starscourge and daemons, of greed and immortality, of clones. She considered the damage this man could do, if she left him to an empire that feeds its own people to the scourge. About what he would do to the innocent soul in the child in front of him.

 

Stepping around the now choking man, abruptly visible, she laid her hands against the tank and let her power ripple out. Ignoring the shaking and rumbling of the base as it began to collapse, she lifted the tank in its entirety. With a last glance at the drowned man, to make sure he was dead, she vanished leaving a collapsing building behind.

 

Arriving in a the deepest part of the Abyss, she finished changing the tank. It now resembled a giant blue-green fish egg with the baby visible inside. She drew from the sea water around her to build a knife made of salt, and started the last step.

 

Speaking in a language that was old when the sea was new, she replaced the tank fluid with her gleaming golden blood and removed the life support. All the while, her power had been building and building, and when the baby Drowned, she spoke the final words to claim him as her child in soul, in heart, and in body.

 

She waited an entire moon-cycle, watching the egg, for him to hatch. During that month her Tidespawn brought her things for the baby, some enterprising mer had even made a bassinet out of a tortoise shell and left before she could thank them. Most of the things would only be useful Below, but she could get land things when she needed them.

 

On the last day of the moon-cycle she gathered a small school of fish in a net and some samples of a few different plants. She didn't know what her son would feed on, but she could tell he wasn't mammalian.

 

At the stroke of midnight the egg hatched, leaving a small golden merchild to slide out, into her waiting arms. Smiling at her little Starfish, she discarded the plants, with those teeth he was definitely a carnivore. Snatching some of the tiny fish out of the net, she held them one by one in front of him, smile growing bigger as he quickly ate them and drifted off to sleep.

 

“Quick little thing, aren't you, my sweet? Hmm quick, swift, prompt...how about Prompto? Yes, it suits you I think.”

 

Gathering some of the fish to take with her and packing the things she could use on land, she considered her next step. Her son need to know the land as well, and she needs to speak to the others about The Problem. Ramuh was the best bet, The Harbinger would be protective of his youngest, after what happened to the others.

 

Walking out of the Sea at the edge of the Storms' Claim, she coaxed Prompto to a more human form, and swaddled him in sea-silk. Pulling out a sling she had been gifted, she settled him in it.

 

When her brother greeted her she knew he had the same suspicions that she did. Why else would he use such formal Hospitality? She allowed him to transport her to his children and introduce her to his family. Did he notice that he had a home again? No probably not, he had been resistant to getting close to anyone since Pho and Di had died, he was probably in denial.

 

Her brothers twins were adorable little terrors, innocent still, as the human war had barely touched these islands. Such a shame that Niflheim didn't take the legends of the Ever Hungry Jungle seriously. The faces they made at the answers she gave were funny, did they think being family would make her stop trolling them?

 

She may have scared her brother, it took far to long to convince him that she wasn't _actually_ going to kill Bahamut. She was simply going to throw as many bones in the gears as possible

 

“It's monkey wrench in the gears, not bones, Levi.”

“Bones crack and leave shards to cause more problems, Ra, I am going to cause ALL the problems.”

“....”

“Not like Atlantis.”

“Good. There are few enough of us left, and I don't want to have to fight you, like we did Ifrit.”

“Speaking of Ifrit.....”

“Well, that would be A problem, but are they going to destroy another civilization?”

 

She gave a careless shrug. It wasn't her problem, and she could always direct them towards Niflheim, so whatever. Convincing him to babysit while she tracked down Titan was easy enough, she just asked in front of the kids. Finding Titan, on the other hand, was considerably harder.

 

Finally tracking them down to Acorddo was a relief, but why are there so many bees? Her sibling had quit humanity after the Meteor had hit, disgusted with how Solheim was turning. If Ifrit had asked instead of just attacking, Titan probably would have joined him.

 

Deciding to wait for them to finish with the bees, Levi settled on a bench by the edge of the cabin. Pulling out book, 'How to Parent, for Dummies', she set about researching what Above people did with their children all day. Did they have something like the communal creche`, like her Tidespawn? Most of them were adults when they Drowned, but there are always some children that die in the water.

 

“Do you want something, Leviathan? Or are you just here to be here?”

 

Levi glanced up at the gravely voice, judging her siblings mood, no need to cause an earthquake. Deciding it was mild enough, she set her book aside. As Titan sighed, and sat down, they shifted from male to female.

 

“Why are your forms always so human attractive, if you don't like them?” she asked distractedly.

“You get stuff cheaper in shops if you cater to the cashiers taste. Did you track me down just to ask that?”

“No, you cheapskate. Did you notice our niblings being born?”

“Vaguely, who's was the last? It was loud.”

“Bahamuts.”

 

Titan stared at her incredulously, brown eyes wide in disbelief, Bahamut was the last they would have thought of to have a kid. And with a human?

 

“It's the Chosen King. They incarnated specifically to bare the Chosen King. You were closest to him, baring Shiva, do you think they're going to go through with the Prophecy?”

“Why not ask Shiva? She would keep your confidence, no matter the question.”

“Shivas' Daughter is the Chosen Oracle, did she have two children to have one to keep?”

 

Titans' gaze went distant as they thought of what they knew of the Glacian, how terribly pragmatic she could be. Of the Draconian and what they would do to ensure the completion of their Duty. And of how both of them had changed after Ifrit Fell, all of them had. None of them had taken that betrayal well, not after everything they had went through together.

 

“Ifrit is the one who knows Shivas' heart, Leviathan, you know that. If you think Bahamut needs to be deposed, you will need to wake him anyway. I will help with averting the Prophecy no matter what Orders they make. The Seasons are turning Sea-Sister, something will change soon.”

 

The last sentence was spoken in a distant voice, like from the end of a tunnel. With a look of understanding they traveled to Ifrits' Seat. Costlemark was the last remaining piece of Heliopolis, not that mortals remember the name of the Capital of Solheim.

 

While Titan set about opening Etros' Gate, to let Ifrit through, she formed a copy of her favorite spear out of compressed water. The real one was long lost, Ifrits' fault again, it would be appropriate to kill him with it. If necessary.

 

Leveling the spear at the Flame that tumbled out of the Gate, before solidifying into a female form, she said,

 

“Hail, Spark of Creation, Ifrit the Always New. Did you reclaim yourself, in our Mothers Garden?”

 

Ifrit didn't answer for a minuet, gasping on her knees, shuddering as mortality settled on her shoulders.

 

“Hail, Keeper of Lifes' River, Leviathan the Tidemother. Hail, Sheppard of the Cycle, Titan the Oath-keeper. I have found my mind again, I have re-lit the flame.”

 

Dropping the spear with a splash, she tackle-hugged Ifrit, feeling Titan join the hug briefly. She teleported them to Galahd, careful to keep them invisible to humans. Leaving Ramuh to his greetings, she wandered over to the twins, who were on the floor with Prompto.

 

She had missed her boy.

 


End file.
